The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Search Amazon for books on persuasion, and you may be surprised to find over 6,000 titles on the subject. From classics like How to Win Friends and Influence People to more elusive titles on everything from mind control to hypnosis, it’s clear that our culture is fascinated, if not a little obsessed, with the art of persuasion. But is a perpetual quest for influence really in our best interest? Al Pittampalli would argue, quite persuasively I might add, that it’s most certainly not.

Al is a bestselling business author, speaker, and consultant whose first book Read This Before Our Next Meetingwas the most popular Kindle book in the world during the week of its release. That’s right, in the world. Known for his outspoken belief that meeting culture in corporate America is in a state of disrepair, Al’s upcoming book explores the rather controversial idea of what it means to be persuadable.

“Part of the book is an argument; it’s trying to argue the reason why people aren’t persuadable is because they don’t see the virtue in it,” says Al. “Everyone understands the benefits of being persuasive, but no one’s really articulated the benefits of being persuadable.”

Earlier this summer, I invited Al to be a guest on my show The Next Crop—a weekly web series that features the next generation of business and media influencers. Today, I’m excited to share that episode with you.

In the short clip above—the full episode is available at TheNextCrop.com—Al shares why he believes being persuadable is so important and why this idea has remained relatively dormant for so long.

“In our culture to be persuaded is perceived as a weakness,” says Al. “The goal of this book is to turn it into a strength. Because I think not only is being persuadable the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.”

From tactical steps that everyone can take to become more persuadable to tips on creating a corporate culture that embodies such an approach, Al provides tangibles ways to facilitate both personal and organizational change.

If I’m being honest, this whole idea makes me uncomfortable. Like so many others, I strive to be influential and can be downright bullish at times. Although I recognize the inherit value of persuadability, the thought of abandoning my obstinacy for a more malleable point of view is unnerving, which is one of the reasons I was so eager to build an entire show around the idea.

There are many words to describe Al Pittampalli: smart, precise, thoughtful, captivating. More than that, however, he is brave—or at least he better be. Trying to convince the world to be more persuadable is no easy feat and will almost certainly be met with criticism. But that's okay, because the persuadable person is open to criticism and loves nothing more than impassioned dialogue—a quality that would no doubt serve the global community well.

Check out the clip above to watch five minutes of my interview with Al, and visit TheNextCrop.com to view the full episode.